Social assistance dynamics in Europe ：National and local poverty regimes

Publication subTitle ：National and local poverty regimes

Author： Saraceno   Chiara (Editor)  

Publisher： Policy Press‎

Publication year： 2002

E-ISBN: 9781847425416

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9781861343147

Subject： C91 Sociology

Keyword： Welfare & benefit systems

Language： ENG

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Description

Throughout Europe income support for the poor has become highly controversial. It is often assumed to be not the answer to, but the cause of social exclusion, and is increasingly believed to give rise to welfare dependency. This book contributes to a more complex understanding of welfare state regimes and welfare recipients in contemporary Europe. Describing social assistance 'careers' in different national and urban contexts, it documents the strong interplay between personal biographies and policy patterns - a particularly useful perspective which complements the more structural, top-down approach of much international work in social policy. Social assistance dynamics in Europe is unique in comparing a range of northern and southern European countries (Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal); in its focus on the actual working of their policies: their set of actors; cultural background; implementation etc. and in its methodological approach, which combines longitudinal analysis with qualitative research. Academics and students of welfare and poverty, policy makers and social policy evaluators in the public, private and non profit sectors will find this book invaluable.

Chapter

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE DYNAMICS IN EUROPE

Contents

List of figures and tables

Acknowledgements

Notes on contributors

1. Introduction: exploring social assistance dynamics

The social construction of the poor and of social assistance ‘careers’

The relevance of time in the analysis of social exclusion and social assistance

Minimum income policies within national welfare systems: a comparative challenge

The choice of countries and cities

2. Cities as local systems

Local formations, constructions of poverty and policy implementation

The local construction of poverty

Institutional structure and welfare mix in local systems

Towards a comparative interpretation of differences in local welfare systems

3. Income support measures for the poor in European cities

Introduction

The various dimensions of income support

Local patterns of income support compared

4. Why some people are more likely to be on social assistance than others

A medium range approach

Who is more likely to be on benefits in the ESOPO cities?

Paths into assisted poverty

Conclusions

5. Paths through (and out of) social assistance

Introduction

What we can comparatively evaluate, and what we cannot

The impact of welfare measures and contexts

Analytical steps and structure of empirical data

Duration on social assistance

In and out of assistance

Some cross-category comparisons

Using multivariate analysis to explain differences in exit and re-entry

Conclusions

6. Deconstructing the myth of welfare dependence

Social assistance in the face of changing demands for support

The potential and constraints of comparing social assistance policies

Local contexts, welfare mixes and the diversity of the third sector

Social assistance careers as the outcome of biographical and institutional constraints

Explicit and implicit assumptions in social integration discourses

Open debates in social assistance discourses

References

Appendix: Institutional frameworks of income support policies in 13 European cities

Index

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